LOK: The Last Bender
by Aonani
Summary: Korra ends up on a benderless Earth with a different Spirit World during her battle with Kuvira. Realizing that her presence here must be a way to atone for her failures in her home world, she helps Team Urameshi in their journey in hopes of finding a way to go home where she can finish what she started. But perhaps there is something here that will stop her from doing so.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: I love YYH (and LOK) too much and re-watching it inspired me to write my own story .**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing but any OCs that may appear for the sake of a plot (:**

* * *

 **Legend of Korra: The Last Bender  
**

 _Prologue:_

 _No Longer Home  
_

* * *

Korra could only see white as she floats in a space of nothingness. Her eyes could barely stay open as they took in the bright light before her. Her body felt as if she hadn't used it for years. Her weight as light as a feather as she remained stationary in the sea of light.

 _Is this...the Spirit World?_

No it is too foreign. It is nothing like the realm she became so familiar with and embraced with all her being. Memories flash in her mind's eye as she tries to figure out how she got here. She remembers the cannon and her last plea to Kuvira. But it had been too late. She remembers the purple beam and that was it.

 _So I'm dead? Just my luck_ _._

But she didn't _feel_ dead. Almost as if she is on the bridge between life and death. It doesn't look like she will leave this place anytime soon. Korra sighs loudly and winces at the echo it produces.

"Mark me down as the worst Avatar in history." Korra grits her teeth and clenches her fist.

She notices that she no longer wears the water tribe outfit from her battle with Kuvira, but the earth one she wore three years after her infamous torture. Something didn't seem right and dread filled her entire being. Is this punishment for failing as an Avatar? Perhaps she truly could not live to be as great as her past lives. She failed the world that Aang tried so hard to protect. She couldn't help but think of Asami, Mako, Bolin and the others. Would she go down in history as the youngest Avatar to die? How pitiful.

"Tenzin, I'm so sorry." She feels tears gather in her eyes and tries to stop them.

She feels as though she is being watched and her every move judged without her consent. She grimaces and quickly rids her eyes free of tears with one swipe from the back of her hand. She gasps when she feels herself going into free fall but fortunately landing on her feet in a matter of ten seconds. She stumbles slightly, not used to the sudden weight after floating for who knows how long. She rubs the back of her neck sheepishly, however her eyes scan for any possible threats. She feels the same dread from moments before except it envelops her body in intense cold. She freezes when she hears the sounds of chains and slowly looks over her shoulder.

"You." Korra gasps and whips around to see the haunting hallucination she thought she got rid of.

The mirror of herself dressed like before, in the blue of the Water Tribe, with the broken chain wrapped around her wrist, and her eyes glowing with the energy of the Avatar State. Her shoulders are hunched, her head raised and her arms limply hanging at her side, giving her a somewhat inhuman appearance. Korra can only step back in shock, and wonders what the hell is going on. Korra clenches her fist and brings it back, ready to throw a ball of fire but stops short when she realizes nothing is happening.

"I can't bend?!" Korra curses when she attempts the other elements but it only made her look like an idiot doing intricate dance.

She feels fear grip her heart when the hallucination takes a step towards her. Korra looks around trying to find some means of escaping but could find nothing.

 _I am so screwed..._

She denies the squeak of fear that tumbles out of her mouth when the Nightmare Korra (a name she thought up on the spot) runs at her with her fist looking ready to connect with Korra's cheek.

"No!" Korra cries raising her arms to block the oncoming attack.

She shuts her eyes tight and prepares for it only to feel a small gust of wind rustle her hair. She opens one eye to see her mirror image standing very close and studying her like some lab rat.

"What?" She opens her second eye and holds her breath.

The hallucination reaches out slowly with her hand towards Korra's forehead. She feels a bead of sweat roll down the side of her face as the hand gets closer to her. She winces when Nightmare Korra's index finger touches the center of her forehead and this wave of heat surrounds her. Suddenly it feels like millions of needles are poking at her skin and she can only yell in pain as the hallucination takes a step back and disappears as if she had never been there at all. The pain soon became unbearable, like the mercury that plagued her during that frightful day. She could hear the voices of her friends and family fill her ears like annoying static and she falls to her knees.

Their voices grow louder but do not separate, making it sound like she is in a room with everyone taking at once. She shakily brings her hands to cover her ears and cannot stop the tears that fall out of her eyes like rain drops.

"Shut up!" She screams, her voice piercing the emptiness of this nightmare.

The voices only get louder and her irritation sky rockets with her pain.

"I said shut up!" The Avatar sits up and throws the blanket off her body.

 _Wait what?_

Korra blinks and looks around, taking in the room around her. The room she is in is unfamiliar and rather small. It looks like it was originally a closet for storing cleaning products and unused furniture. She looks down at her body to see herself still wearing the green of the Earth Nation. This time her arms are covered in bandages and so are her feet. Almost as if the most important parts of her body used for bending are critically damaged.

"You're almost as loud as the dimwit." An old, small woman with pink hair pushes the sliding door while cleaning her ear with her pinky.

The red in her outfit makes Korra suspect that she's from the Fire Nation but the white and overall design throws her off.

"Who are you?" Korra states bluntly, not sure if she should trust the old woman despite realizing it was probably her who fixed Korra up.

"I'll tell you if you're worth my time." The old woman mimics her tone and glares at her. "Get your ass to the main part of the temple."

Korra can only gape as the old woman slams the sliding door shut behind her. She oddly reminds her of Toph and suddenly becomes rather frightened at the idea of those two being in the same room together. They would tear her apart. Realizing she has no choice at the moment, she slowly stands up and fully expects her body to be in a world of pain.

She feels okay.

"Fantastic." Korra sighs in relief and does a small fist pump.

She opens the sliding door and looks both ways. She refrains from face palming when she notices that she has no idea where the main part of this temple even is. She closes the door behind her and decides that going right would be her first guess. She frowns when she reaches the end of the hall, feeling some sort of energy getting closer. She instinctively takes a left, a right, goes straight and then another right, ending up in a large room. Korra felt irritated at how big this place is.

"So you're not a dimwit. Congratulations." The old woman is standing before her, a small grin on her face.

"Thanks?" Korra's eye twitches and she reminds herself it's not polite to hit unsuspecting old people.

"Usually someone without spirit awareness would have gotten lost completely since your room is rather far away. But you managed to find your way to me under ten minutes." She had the decency to look slightly impressed.

"Well I am the Avatar." Korra frowns, not really understanding what she meant though.

"Is that supposed to mean something?" She raises an eyebrow and claps her hands behind her back.

"Well yeah."

"Well it doesn't." The old woman says and a flash of amusement passes through her eyes when she sees Korra trying not to punch her lights out.

"I suspected that you wouldn't be able to walk. I found you in a rather large crater on my temple grounds covered by blue flames."

Korra felt her frown deepen. Did Kuvira's cannon hit her so hard she ended up in the Fire Nation? Blue flames didn't make sense either. The cannon shot a purple beam. The Avatar could only scratch her head and stare at the pink haired woman in confusion.

"Tell me your name punk."

Korra wonders if the woman lives in the farthest corner of the earth away from civilization.

"I'm Korra. You honestly don't know me?" She raises an eyebrow and puts her hands on her waists.

"Not a clue."

That statement makes Korra hit the floor in shock. She quickly recovers and clears her throat.

"You haven't told me your name."

"I'm Genkai. You honestly don't know?" Genkai said in a mocking tone.

Korra clenches her fist but ultimately decides starting a fight isn't the best idea. She had to get back to Kuvira and end their fight.

"Look I need to get back to Republic City. I need to stop Kuvira." She begins to hastily remove her bandages despite Genkai's noise of protests.

"Amazing." Genkai whispers at the lack of scars or wounds beneath the bandages.

Her hands and feet had oddly taken the most damage in the fall. No one would believe that she had fallen out of the sky if the crater was not out there. Korra heads towards the largest sliding doors in the room, guessing that they are the doors that lead outside. Before she can open it and begin her journey back, Genkai's words stop her mid step.

"Wait, you idiot. I have never heard of a Republic City."

"What?!"


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Thank you for the reviews!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing but any eventual OCs and anything else unfamiliar (:**

* * *

 **Legend of Korra: The Last Bender**

 _Chapter 2:_

 _Korra In Distress_

* * *

Korra tries not to sit in the fetal position while hysterically crying over the next couple of days. Korra had been in charge of cleaning duty for three days as repayment for Genkai taking her in and cleaning her wounds. Genkai had caught her off guard with her ignorance about Republic City and it left Korra in a state of confusion. Where in the world is the lady even living? She is this close to kicking Genkai's butt all the way to the Foggy Swamp to live with Toph.

Genkai tells her eventually (because she said Korra wasn't worthy of the information on the first day) she's currently in _Japan_ ; whatever that is. When Korra asks if it's some city in the Fire Nation, the old woman only stares in confusion. Then fifteen minutes of geography trivia passes between the two and Korra has a very, very bad feeling she's not home anymore. When Genkai pulls a map out of nowhere and lays it in front of Korra, that is when her suspicions are confirmed.

"What the hell is an America?" Korra picks up the map and holds it upside down.

"You must be from another planet, kid." Genkai snorts before frowning at how true that statement could actually be.

"This is all wrong. Where's the Earth Nation, the Air Temples?" Korra scowls and tries to read the map.

"You might be farther from home than you think." Genkai shakes her head.

Korra groans pitifully and drops the map, laying on her back and staring at the ceiling in despair. Nothing here is familiar. Kuvira's cannon literally dumped her in some new world instead of killing her. One could guess that is a plus. Or maybe she did die and someone is giving her a second chance at life. Can she still even bend the other elements besides water? Could she even bend at all in this world? If she died back home, it means that the next Avatar had been born. She sits up quickly and turns to Genkai.

"You got a training ground with a source of water by any chance?"

Genkai stares at her for a moment before nodding and leaving the room. Korra takes it as a sign to follow her. She scrambles onto her feet and runs after it, wondering how an old lady like her walks so fast. Then she realizes that Toph wiped the floor with her and she immediately banishes all disrespectful thoughts about Genkai. She leads Korra to a clearing with a small pond to the right. Korra surveys the area and sees the huge forest to the left.

"If you damage my forest, I will kill you." Genkai sits down at the stairs of her temple as she watches Korra walk to the middle of the field.

Korra feels a chill go down her spine and she knows that Genkai will fulfill that threat despite only knowing her for thirty minutes. The Avatar couldn't help but sweat nervously when she sees Genkai's eyes stabbing holes into the back of her neck. She clears her throat and decides that air bending would be the safest route. Genkai's eyes narrow when she sees Korra take a stance similar to that of a Chinese martial art.

"Baguazhang." She murmurs as Korra begins to move in a circle.

Korra grimaces when she feels no change in the air around her. No air even gathers around her fists. She tries more circular moments and spins back and forth. It is not use. Genkai doesn't comment, curiously watching and trying to figure out what in the world Korra is even doing. She would never admit it out loud, but she is rather impressed of Korra's form and grace.

"Dammit!" Korra stops what she's doing and punches the ground in frustration.

She tries fire next, purposely moving far away from the trees as possible. She starts with wide kicks and leaps, powerfully swinging her arm. She does quick advances towards an imaginary fighter, her anger boiling her blood but it did not help at all. She couldn't even produce a tiny flame in her palm. Korra kicks a nearby rock, feeling shame and despair squeeze her chest. She feels as if she's being injected with mercury all over again. She feels helpless and alone.

Genkai furrows her eyebrows, not really sure as to what is going on. She notes that Korra's stance is Northern Shaolin Kung fu. She leans against the wooden railing and continues to watch in silence. She wonders what Korra will do next. There is clearly something bothering the young girl and after she released all her frustration then Genkai will start asking questions.

Korra does the tiger animal style and then switches to the crane. She raises her fist with her elbow bent and stomps forward. Not even a tremor.

"Hung Ga." Genkai notes, sensing the strong energy coming from Korra.

Genkai is clearly a great lover for all martial arts. She wishes to know who Korra's teacher or teachers had been. These fighting styles are rather rare in Japan and one would have to search far and wide for a teacher.

"Are you kidding me?!" Korra yells and starts frantically waving her arms.

Korra feels like she's about to lose it. She is no longer able to bend fire, air, or earth. The girl is the close to picking up the nearest boulder and flinging it into the forest. She couldn't care less about how Genkai would be angry for the vandalizing. Korra doesn't realize as she's having her temper tantrums, the pond behind her starts rippling and making small waves. Genkai looks at the pond and raises an eyebrow.

"Hey dimwit!" She calls out.

Korra immediately stops what she's doing and turns to face Genkai.

"What!?"

The old woman smirks and notices the pond no longer looks disturbed. So Korra's spirit energy is manipulating the water in tune to her emotions. When Korra is met with silence, she huffs in annoyance and looks to see that Genkai is staring at the pond.

"Right, just water bending left." Korra hesitates.

If she could no longer water bend, then that meant that she is no longer the avatar nor a bender of the Water Tribe. She no longer had Raava to aid her and she'd be all alone. Korra feels naked without her bending; like someone stole her armor and left her to fight in the cold. She clenches her fist and walks over to the pond, praying that everything would be okay. If she still has her water bending, she could easily relearn the other elements. No big deal.

Korra slowly holds out her hands, palms down, and begins to slowly move them in a wave. She mimics the moon pulling and pushing the tides of the earth.

Genkai feels like she needs both her ears and eyes checked when she sees Korra manipulating the water with her hands in the stance of Tai Chi. She needed her ears checked because the scream of joy that Korra releases probably popped her's and the several demons' in the forest ears. Genkai blinks repeatedly as she cleans her ear with her pinky, watching in awe as Korra moves like the flow of water she is moving with just her finger tips.

"Dimwit, what are you doing?" Genkai's voice startles Korra and causes the water to splash into the grass.

"It's called bending." Korra's eyes are lit with happiness as she runs over the Genkai.

"Explain."

"Bending is the ability to manipulate the elements. As the Avatar, I can bend all four elements and the energy within my own body."

"You had been only able to do so with water." Genkai points out.

"I'm from the Southern Water Tribe, so water is our default you could say."

"Everyone from this tribe can do what you just did?" Genkai's eyebrows are up to her hairline in surprise.

"Not all. Some are unable to bend."

"Why?"

"Think of it like genes, sometimes it skips family members." Korra shrugs, not having ever been asked this question before.

"So, Tai Chi is related to water. What of Hung Ga, Baguazhang, and Northern Shaolin Kung fu?"

"What?" Korra asks dumbly, wondering what the hell Genkai just said.

"Your martial arts, you idiot. You clearly used them in order to do this so called bending."

"Well uh, in order, I did air, fire, then earth." Korra still had no idea of what Genkai is talking about.

"Interesting." Genkai folds her arms across her chest and appears in deep thought.

"I wasn't able to do the others." Korra says sadly, closing and opening her fist as she stares at it.

"You also mentioned energy bending."

"It's the ability to manipulate life energy. The most I learned was restoring or taking away someone's ability to bend."

Genkai stares at Korra in shock, an ability like that would most likely be powerful. It brought a chill up her spine at the thought of it being in the wrong hands. Imagine using it to seal someone's spirit energy and bar them from ever using it. That would be a disaster.

"It's a forgotten art and difficult to learn." Korra shrugs.

"Could you say that this is energy bending?"

Korra snaps her eyes towards Genkai's finger to see a small blue light emitting from the tip. She gapes as she feels the raw energy coming from it and immediately steps back in fear.

"Where did you learn how to do that?!"

Genkai smirks and stops what she's doing. So she had been right.

"It's called the Spirit Gun. I aim, gather my spirit energy to my finger tip and shoot." Genkai explains simply.

"So there are benders here?!" Korra's eyes widen.

Kuvira's cannon sent her to a far away place that had energy benders, but no physical element benders. Korra could only stare in awe at the massive amount of power she senses from Genkai.

"Not exactly. Spirit energy is possessed by all humans but only a few have the power to use it as a weapon. It is mostly powered by human emotions, not through the use of martial arts like yours. Perhaps there are similarities to this energy bending you described, but it is not the same I'm afraid."

Korra visibly deflates at that, taking a seat next to Genkai. They sit there in silence, Genkai deep in thought while Korra wallows in misery as she stares at the grass.

"Tell me, kid. When are you the most powerful?"

"In my Avatar State." Korra says simply before gasping and standing up straight.

"Your what?" Genkai asks.

"The Avatar State is a defense mechanism, in which an Avatar may freely access the knowledge and powers of all previous Avatars. This provides the Avatar with great powers, as well as mastery over all four elements, even if the Avatar has not yet learned all four bending techniques."

"Show me." Genkai narrows her eyes.

"I don't think I can." Korra grimaces, staring down at her hands. "You said spirit energy is powered by emotions. Well the Avatar State is the same. I need to be in danger or emotional turmoil in order to activate it."

"And?" Genkai frowns, knowing that there is more.

"I needed the aid of the previous Avatar to even activate it the first time. I don't even think I can talk to my past lives in this world. If I lost my ability to bend the other three elements, then I probably can't even reach the Avatar State." Korra sits back down and draws her knees to her chest.

"You said you can channel it even if you don't know all four." Genkai begins to grow annoyed as to how easily Korra is giving up.

"It's not that simple."

Korra doesn't even the see punch coming at her.

"What was that for?!" Korra yells and rubs her throbbing cheek.

"You said its triggered by danger right? So let's get started." Genkai growls and aims for another punch to the face.

"Cut it out!"

Korra dodges it and runs to the clearing. She sees Genkai over her shoulder running at her with full speed and she's sure that this woman is not playing around. She side steps another punch and almost faints at the massive hole the old woman makes when her fist connects to the ground. How the heck did her old bones not break that punch.

"You don't even look a day over fourteen, a dimwit like you shouldn't have the powers and knowledge you possess!"

Korra freezes and stares as the fist connects to her stomach, making her fly back into the grass.

"Fourteen?" Korra whispers and looks at Genkai with disbelief.

"What? You not only failed to bend, you failed to remember your own age too?" The old woman scoffs and gets into a fighting stance.

"I'm twenty one you old hag!" Korra barks and gets up, lashing out her hand.

Genkai jumps back in surprise as she sees Korra literally _takes_ the water out of the flowers beside her and flings it at her like a sharp sword. She grunts and gives Korra a small smile.

"That all you got, runt?"

Korra grits her teeth and jumps to her feet. She would celebrate her spontaneous ability to plant bend later. Now is not the time.

"I'm not going to fight you. It's below me to fight weak grandmothers."

Korra gets a rather sharp kick to the chest for that comment. She groans as her back skids across the grass and she could already feel the various bruises forming on her mid and upper torso. She'd be lucky if she isn't internally bleeding. Korra sits up and winces, holding her stomach to ease the pain. She gasps when she feels a surge of energy and looks up to see Genkai pointing her finger at Korra like a gun.

"You either die or show me that you deserve to live!" Genkai shouts and the ball of energy at the tip of her finger grows ten fold.

Korra tries to get up but fails, the pain in her torso is excruciating and she bites her bottom lip in agony. She couldn't stop the tears gathering in her eyes as Genkai became ready to shoot it.

"I don't want to die!" Korra screams as the ball of energy comes at her at rapid speed.

Genkai can't control the look of awe on her face as Korra's eyes glow a bright white. She sees the girl get up as if her wounds are nothing. She gasps quietly when Korra reaches out her hand and looks as if to stop the Spirit Gun with her palm.

She didn't expect Korra to throw it right back.

"You're smarter than you look, dimwit!" Genkai smirks and easily dodges the Spirit Gun blast as it goes to her.

If she put her full power into it (she barely even used 20%), Korra would have died either way. Seems like the Avatar wormed into her heart faster than she'd like. However, she would not take her in as her pupil for Korra had no need for the Spirit Wave. Korra had nothing to protect with all her heart in this world. Genkai grunts in surprise when Korra's eyes return to their normal blue and the girl falls to her knees, passing out the second her body connects to the ground.

"Congratulations, you earned a small ounce of respect."

Genkai nudges her with her foot to make sure she's still alive. She is.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Thank you for the reviews! And sorry I got lazy during the explanation of the Avatar origins lol  
**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing but any eventual OCs and anything else unfamiliar (:**

* * *

 **Legend of Korra: The Last Bender**

 _Chapter 3:_

 _Beginning of Training  
_

* * *

"Why am I doing this again?" Korra's eye twitches as she sits there meditating.

It feels like training with Tenzin all over again. It had been a complete, boring nightmare in the beginning.

"You have to be patient." Genkai grunts as she sits next to her drinking tea.

Tenzin said that too.

"I know." Korra sighs, shoulders sagging.

She misses all of them. It has been a week since she landed unceremoniously into Genkai's backyard (if you could call it that) and the weight on her shoulders only increases. Korra still feels the emotions of failure and disappointment over being unable to fulfill her duty back home. Did she even have a new purpose here?

"Hey, dimwit, focus!" Genkai gives her a good smack to the back of the head.

"Definitely like Toph." Korra grumbles and continues her meditation.

Yesterday, Genkai had said she would help Korra with her energy bending, since in this world it is directly connected to her physical element bending. When it came to air, fire, and earth, Korra would be on her own. Genkai stated that when she did her water bending, Korra's spirit energy level spiked considerably high temporarily.

"I can only help you until I find a pupil." Genkai stated before the start of Korra's training.

"Another person to call a dimwit?" Korra joked, sitting Indian style.

"I can only pray that he won't be one."

Now, it is well into the afternoon and Korra didn't feel any progress. But she knows that if she opens her mouth to complain, Genkai would throw her across the field and decide to shoot another Spirit Gun. When the old lady described to her what had happened after she went into the Avatar State, Korra had been rightfully confused. She didn't jump out of the way or bend the other elements in an attempt to block it. She hasn't been able to stop thinking about it ever since. She didn't even get a chance to connect with her predecessors. All she saw was a field of flowers, and her all alone. It also meant she literally had no physical or mental control during her Avatar State; something that would prove disastrous if she didn't master soon.

"I need you to quit with the inner pity party going on inside your head." Genkai snaps her out of her thoughts.

"I'm not having a pity party." Korra pouts.

"I get that you're sad because you're alone in this world, but maybe it's that way for a reason. In this place you have to fend for yourself, no buts. Be thankful I'm trying to help you learn something I literally just heard about a couple days ago."

"I know." Korra exhales and rubs her eyes.

"Your life as the Avatar meant protecting everyone else, but have you ever protected yourself?" Genkai glances at her from the corner of her eye.

Korra shrugs, "Well yeah. I mean you're not the first person to out right attack me."

"Not what I meant." Genkai shakes her head. "Has anyone ever taught you to be selfish for once?"

Korra can only smile bitterly as she remembers her time after the Red Lotus incident. How she nearly gave up her life as the Avatar because she had been unable to heal after the torture and constant nightmares.

"I taught myself." Korra says softly and looks down at her hands.

Genkai looks at her briefly and notes the look of despair that clouds in Korra's eyes. For someone so young, she had been through a lot and Genkai respects that. However, Korra feeling sorry for herself in being in this situation would get her nowhere.

"I'm guessing you became selfish after a traumatic experience?" Genkai asks coolly.

"How did you guess?" Korra smiles wryly and stretches her arms.

"Because the selfishness I'm thinking of is the kind that keeps you alive. Not the result of some asshole deciding to ruin your life and you forgot to care about anyone else but yourself." Genkai scowls.

"You lost me." Korra blinks.

"What was the first thing you said before you went into the Avatar State?"

"I don't want to die." Korra says slowly.

"Exactly. Keep that mentality up and you'll remember how to bend the elements again. Selfishness isn't always a negative, kid."

A brief silence blankets the two as Genkai finishes her tea.

"Thank you."

Genkai only nods and leaves Korra to herself. The Avatar resumes her meditation and cannot keep the smile off her face. When Genkai returns two hours later, her chest slightly puffs up with pride as she sees the white Spirit Energy around Korra. It surrounded her body like a shield and the old woman knew that if Korra kept this up, perhaps she'd relearn all that she lost in less than half a year. She did feel miniscule guilt at not being able to be anymore help to her, but judging from Korra's will to adapt and survive in a strange, new world, Genkai knew she would be fine. However, Korra had a massive amount of untapped energy. It would bring her many hardships and Reikai would most definitely want someone like her. A human manipulating the elements is unheard of.

"Hey dimwit, how is it that you can do what you do?" Genkai realizes too late how dumb that sounded.

"Lion turtles and spirits." Korra answers immediately, voice soft and it sounds as if she is far away.

Genkai nearly falls over out of character at that.

"Come again?"

"My soul isn't ordinary, if you haven't realized it yet." Korra slowly opens her eyes.

"I get that whole reincarnation bit you explained to me last night." Genkai scowls. "But please do explain lion turtles and spirits."

"Wan was the first Avatar from ten thousand years ago. After being banished from his home, he learned to coexist with the spirits, deciding to help bring balance between them and the rest of mankind. That ultimately leads him to becoming the first Avatar actually. He learned firebending from a lion turtle and was banished because he used it to steal instead of defend himself against the evils of the Spirit World. Lion turtles are basically large animals with the abilities to grant bending and they protected mankind by having cities on their backs. It used to be a difficult world to live in back then." Korra explains and tries not to laugh as Genkai sits next to her like a child listening to her mother's story. "Wan then began to live with the spirits and even befriended them. He learned to master his firebending so that it was no longer a tool, but rather like an extension of his own arm. Eventually he sets out on a journey to learn the other three elements and then he meets Raava, the spirit of peace and light."

Korra then starts to give a quick, summarized version of what happens. She couldn't stop the boost of her ego as Genkai patiently sits through the whole thing, even showing some change of emotion when she speaks of Vaatu, the combining of Raava and Wan, and eventually Wan's death. Despite Genkai's normal, stoic attitude, Korra could tell she had a soft heart. But perhaps the number of years took a toll on her body.

"You are the literal version of an old soul." Genkai says bluntly.

The comment causes Korra to go into a fit of laughter and she throws her head back. Genkai can't stop the smirk on her face as she watches Korra in a new light, so to speak.

"Wait until I tell you about Kyoshi. She literally made her own island by earth bending it out of the main land and lived to be two hundred and thirty."

Genkai demands she tell her that story over dinner.


End file.
